Why do women outlive men? Cells that develop into sperm and eggs could give the answer

The team at Osaka University showed that knocking out the production of germ cells led to longer-living males and to females that died younger than usual, closing the lifespan gap. Photograph: Osaka University

The enduring mystery of why women outlive men may come down to the smallest and the largest cells in the body: the sperm and eggs that are central to human reproduction.

Scientists in Japan have shown for the first time in vertebrates that cells that develop into eggs in females and sperm in males drive sex differences in lifespan, and that removing the cells leads to animals with the same life expectancy.